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12/1/12

End of 2012 Book Survey

I participated in last year's end of year book survey, hosted by the wonderful Jaime over at The Perpetual Page Turner, and have been looking forward to this year's survey for a few weeks now! As the year winds down to a close, it's time to reflect on the bestest books of the last year and look forward to what's coming in 2013....

Best in Books 2012
1. Best book you read in 2012?I'm sure that John Green's The Fault in Our Stars is going to show up on a LOT of lists this year, but I'm going to go with R.J. Palacio's Wonder. This book simply blew my mind.
2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn't?I was totally excited to dive into the Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, but wasn't as amazed as I had thought and hoped I would be. I'm still on the fence about whether or not to read any further.
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?I'll have to go with Brodi Ashton's Everneath. I picked up this book based on its gorgeous cover and had no idea what it was about. The storyline ended up impressing me, and I'm looking forward to reading the second installment next year.
4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?If I could have bought shares in R.J. Palacio's Wonder, I would be independently wealthy by now! I have raved about this book on at least a dozen occasions on this blog alone, not to mention how many times I've recommended it to friends. I seriously believe that there would be no more bullying if everyone in the world could read this story.
5. Best series you discovered in 2012?I started a LOT of series in 2012, so it's hard to choose just one. Many of the series that I started were just book one, so I'll go with the Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano (Wither and Fever) because I've invested more time in the storyline. She writes so brilliantly and I'm really intrigued to see how the series comes to a close next year.
6. Favourite new authors you discovered in 2012?There are so many: Stephanie Perkins, Morgan Matson, Brodi Ashton, Julianna Baggott, Lauren DeStefano, R.J. Palacio, Marie Lu, Tahereh Mafi, Marissa Meyer, Courtney Summers, Siobhan Vivian (and I'm sure I'm forgetting at least a few more!)
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?My first impulse was to say Fifty Shades of Grey, but I don't know if I can consider that to be a BEST book. Hard to put down, yes, but not really best. I'll have to go with Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone. I used to be a HUGE fantasy reader when I was younger, but gradually moved towards more contemporary reads. It was really great to dive back into a fantastical realm that was a little more "out there" than just paranormal and/or dystopian fiction.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?I'll have to go with Stephanie Perkins' Anna & the French Kiss. I'd picked up and put down quite a few books, not really feeling any of the storylines. But I knew, based on other bloggers' love for the book, that it would be a hit. And it was -- I think I read it in a day and a half.

9. Book you read in 2012 that you are most likely to re-read next year?I haven't re-read a book in a long, long time! Since I'm going to be a mom in February, I may re-read some of my older favourites next year, but likely not anything that I read this year.

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2012?I don't know what it is about this cover, but I just love it! The story inside was awesome too.

11. Most memorable character in 2012?Probably Taylor in Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer. My heart broke while reading this story and there was some serious messy crying at the end -- it's so hard to read this book when you're a daddy's girl!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?My initial thought would be the first two books in the Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano (Wither and Fever), but while looking through my books read in 2012 on Goodreads, I think I'll go with Julianna Baggott's Pure. The style in that book took me completely by surprise, although she's a poet so I shouldn't have been so shocked at the beautiful way she wrote about such a horrific world.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?Can't choose just one: Wonder made me believe in humanity and kindness, Second Chance Summer tore my heart apart, as did John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Pure was a surprising read, as I didn't expect such a horrifically beautiful dystopian, and I loved the melding of historical fact with a dystopian setting.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?Definitely Anna & the French Kiss. This book had been on my TBR list for ages and ages and it was well worth the wait!

15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once. - John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2012?Shortest book: Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl (170 pages) -- thank goodness this one was so short, otherwise I wouldn't have finished reading it!Longest book: Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (636 pages) -- although, if I can finish Shantaram by the end of December, that'll blow this one out of the water... it's 933 pages!

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it?Probably Second Chance Summer -- after I stopped crying. Fortunately, I sobbed on hubby's shoulder, then poured out the story of the book and we talked about it. And Magan @ Rather Be Reading and Hannah @ So Obsessed With both shared in my emotional state over the book.

18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2012?Probably Anna and St. Clair in Anna & the French Kiss. I loved the simplicity of the budding relationship in that book.

19. Favourite book you read in 2012 from an author you read previously?Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium -- so, so, SO good.

20. Best book you read that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else?Both Some Girls Are and This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers, which were recommended to me by Magan @ Rather Be Reading. BLEW my mind with both books, and I fully intend to read her two other books as soon as I can!

Book Blogging / Reading Life in 2012
1. New favourite blog you discovered in 2012?I discovered lots of new blogs, but lost all of my bookmarks when our computer died a month or so ago. I'm slowly recreating the list, starting with my all-time favourite blogs.

2. Favourite review that you wrote in 2012?May I take a moment and promote Wonder ... just one more time? (No promises that this book won't make a reappearance again by the end of this survey!)

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?I don't get a lot of discussion on my blog; most people stop by to comment and, although I try to reply to all of the comments, it doesn't really turn into discussion. Some of the most thoughtful comments that I had were on a Top Ten Tuesday post about series that I hadn't finished.

4. Most thought-provoking review you read on somebody else's blog?This is hard -- I love so many bloggers' reviews! One that has stuck with me, especially because I kept checking back in to read the comments, was Lea's review of Shattered Souls. Although I love reading the gushy, "oh my goodness, this is the best book I've read all year," solid 5 star reviews, it's sometimes refreshing to see when someone really eloquently describes why a book just didn't work, as Lea did in this review.

5. Best event that you participated in?I met Lisa Genova in person, which was awesome. Authors so rarely come to town, so it was really fun to meet her and have my book signed.

6. Best moment of blogging in 2012?Probably when Morgan Matson responded to my gushy tweets about her books -- it was so cool to connect with a real writer via social media.

7. Most popular post this year on your blog?My post for the launch of my Something Wicked Comes giveaway -- although gaining followers has never really been a goal of blogging for me (I'm always thrilled if even one person stops by to comment on a review or a post), it was pretty thrilling to see how many entries I had in the giveaway by the end of the month.

8. Post you wished got a little more love?Again, not too worried about that -- I have at least a couple of comments on most of my reviews, and that's just fine with me!

9. Best bookish discovery?I ordered from the Book Depository for the very first time this year ... this could become a very, very bad habit.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year?I want to say that I failed miserably at all of the challenges that I set out to do, but that isn't entirely true. I aimed to read 75 books on my Goodreads challenge and have already surpassed that. I also signed up for Bookish's TBR Pile Challenge and, although I read quite a few books that had been on my TBR list for over a year, I didn't really keep track of what I read. Same goes for the Dusty Bookshelf Challenge. And the very first challenge that I signed up for was the Outlander challenge, and I didn't even read the first book. Although I did say that I would read that for my next TBR Intervention book ... so perhaps it's time to give it a go?Looking Ahead...
1. One book you didn't get to in 2012 but will be your number 1 priority in 2013?Hmm... definitely planning to read as much as I can in January, before Baby arrives in February, but I can't say that I have really planned out which specific titles I'm hoping to get to.
2. Book you are most anticipating for 2013?I can't choose just one. Requiem, Scarlet, new Sarah Dessen -- read my full list of eagerly anticipated titles here.
3. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging in 2013?My only goal at this point is to just keep doing it. As a first time mom, I really have no idea how much free time I'll have for reading and blogging but, as I'm enjoying it, I'm really hoping to find the time!
And that's it for me -- I can't wait to start checking out everyone else's end of year surveys! Please leave me a link to your survey, and I'll stop by to visit!

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comments:

I think I'm going to do this survey at some point this week, I spotted it on Jamie's blog yesterday and it looks like a fun way of looking back over this year's reading. I think Morgan Matson was one of my favourite new author discoveries this year, too - I haven't read Second Chance Summer yet, but I will prepare for tears now!

Love all your Fault in Our Stars love!! Looks like I'll be adding Pure and Second Chance Summer to my TBR! They sound amazing! I bought Wither on a whim and it sounds like the series is amazing so now you've made me really excited! And Daughter of Smoke and Bone...epic!!

Thank you! I hope that you enjoy Pure, Second Chance Summer and Wither ... they were all excellent reads. And I totally concur on Daughter of Smoke & Bone -- I just can't wait for my copy of Days of Blood & Starlight to come into the library so that I can continue the adventure!!!!

So, so happy I was there to gush about Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer with you! THAT BOOK! Good gosh -- such a fave. Love reading the end of year surveys! I haven't filled mine out yet, but I can't wait to reflect on the year! :)

I can't wait to read yours! Although my TBR list will probably grow, since we totally have the same taste in books =P That is if, for some reason, I've managed to not notice a book that you loved this year (which is highly unlikely!)